Apprentices under 21, estimated to number around 210,000 nationwide will see their wages rise by 10p to £3.40 an hour.

Young workers aged 16 to 17 will see their wags increase to £4 an hour.

This follows a promising employment rate of nearly 75 per cent, and unemployment hit a 10-year low.

In April the minimum wage for over 25s was raised to £7.20

Employers must now pay those entitled to minimum wage the new rates or face punishment and also being named and shamed on a public register, with the HRMC enforcement budget gaining an extra £7 million.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said: “This will make a real difference to hard-working people up and down the country and means for the vast majority of workers, the National Minimum Wage is at its highest level in real terms.”